I'm one of those (seemingly) crazy chicks who use sunscreen even in winter, reason #1 being that I use chemical exfoliants every day (or rather night) which thin my skin considerably and expose it to more sun damage, while reason #2 is that every time I look at my Mother I am reminded of the cr*ppy genes I carry and want to give my skin all the support I can in fighting off aging, the cause of which, as we all know, is sun-damage. (I also feel love, gratitude and a general warmth near my heart when I look at her, but I really do think that's self-evident. :)

Believe me, I will get to my point. Eventually.

So we all know that Tinosorb molecules (the active ingredients in Bioderma sunscreens) are oily (or at least NOW we all know ;-), and also that oily stuff is best removed by... well, oil. Now, in April I still had a job and had the luxury of not really having to think twice about shelling out around 4000 HUF for an oil cleanser. (This oil cleanser, to be more precise.) Nowadays, however, I don't, so while I did allow myself to go a little crazy with the X-mas money I got from my Dad and placed a Silk Naturals order, I have not yet reached such levels of insanity that would justify throwing 5000 HUF out the window for a ratty 200 ml bottle of sunflower and almond oil, plus some emulsifier. (Hmm, I hear emulsifiers are more expensive than diamonds these days...... Not.)

I've been searching high and low for an affordable alternative in the past few months, but whatever I found was usually either one of the following:

not available in Hungary

available on EBay, but insanely expensive

available on EBay, doesn't even cost much, but seller ships for a ridiculous fee

available on EBay, is affordable and P&P is acceptable, but...

... it contains mineral oil

... it contains silicone (O_o ???)

... isn't really the best candidate for the job after all.

I almost caved and bought the d*mn thing again when inspiration struck. Actually, it was one of Ladybird's comments about sometimes using Bioderma's cleansing milk to remove makeup and sunscreen. Alas, that stuff has mineral oil in it, but the idea stuck in my head and from then it was only a matter of time before the following conversation ensued in my mind:

Me#1: - "We've been a self-proclaimed Alverde girl for a while now, right?"Me#2: - "Right!"Me#1: - " That brand has always had something to help us in situations like this, right?"Me#2: - "Right!"Me#1: - "So why ever shall we not look around among their products and see if they have something that can help us in our current predicament?"Me#2: - "Errrrr... Right!!!"

And boy were "we" right...!

Here's the little darling, Alverde Reinigungsmilch Wildrose:

It's a cleansing milk with wildrose extract and a really nice list of ingredients ('alcohol' tagging along somewhere at the end of it, hooray).

For me, the typical way to use a cleansing milk has always involved copious amounts of cotton pads and swearing, so I was a wee bit hesitant about buying this, but then I had a great idea: I would use this stuff exactly as I used my cleansing oil.

Yeah, you heard it right: exactly as I would use a cleansing oil. I spread it on dry skin, and though it will sink in a bit and become dry pretty fast, have no fear, because once you wet it, it'll be slippery again and really nice to give your face a massage with. It removes all of the remaining dirt/foundation/eyeshadow/mascara/sunscreen and can be easily washed off with water with practically no residue left.

It's a white creamy substance, but not thick at all. Its consistency reminds me of a daytime moisturizer and it would probably double as one if it weren't for the small amount of sugar tenside in it. It also smells of roses which is always a bonus and I didn't break the bank either. :)

I too was skeptical about this (meaning lots of little conversations between Me#1 and Me#2 before I finally committed to buying it), but Alverde's cleansing milk has proved to be an excellent alternative to L'Occitane's Almond-Apple Cleansing Oil and has become a staple in my collection.

Thanks Ladybird!

Where to get it: in Drogerie-Markt stores exclusivelyPrice/amount: 799 HUF for a 150 ml bottleMy rating: 5 out of 5Ingredients:

How cool is that?!!! We're a pretty inventive pair of gals, now aren't we? :-DDD I had a sample of this milk a few years back and I tried to use it with a cotton ball, but it was a disaster if I ever saw one. Now, however... :-D

I don't know if the version you guys use is the one that contains alcohol, but if it is, it does not strike me as teribly good. It has a nice smell and cleans pretty well, but the alcohol dries a bit...